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House passes bill giving stepparents and close relatives standing to seek custody in certain cases
Summary
Senate Bill 186 passed the House after extended debate. The measure gives current or former stepparents and specified close relatives limited standing to seek custody or visitation when they have assumed a parental role; supporters said the bill answers a Supreme Court prompt while detractors warned of unintended parental-rights consequences.
The Utah House passed Senate Bill 186, which creates a narrowly defined right for certain nonparents—current or former stepparents and close blood relatives—to petition for custody or visitation when the nonparent has developed a substantial parental relationship with the child. The bill passed on the floor 57–13 and was returned to the Senate.
Representative McKiff, the House sponsor, outlined a common factual pattern motivating the bill: a child raised by a step‑parent or family member whose biological parent later becomes estranged or seeks custody after a parent’s death. The sponsor said the bill gives such caregivers standing to…
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